Vibes

Live review: Camp Freddy, N.C. Music Factory (9/3/2012)

There were plenty of musical performances around town on Monday — Janelle Monae was the highlight of the family-friendly, rain-shortened CarolinaFest, Tony Bennett performed at a private party at The Fillmore, The Roots performed at a StartUp RockOn event at Amos' Southend, John Legend was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Adrien Grenier offered a DJ set inside Butter and a "supergroup" of sorts hit the stage of the N.C. Music Factory's Fountain Plaza.

Donovan Leitch Jr.

Maybe 20 or 25 years ago, the Camp Freddy lineup that performed at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States would have been jaw-dropping, but on this night it was simply nothing but a good time.

From Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" to The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," Camp Freddy rifled through more than 15 songs as party-goers knocked back top-shelf liquor thanks to DISCUS. There were hints of the talent each band member has during the laid-back performance, but this isn't a group that got together to record new music or deliver a political message, it's strictly a name-dropping party band.

Mark McGrath

So, what's a DNC party like? This one was more like a wedding reception than a concert — people of a variety of ages who don't really know each other and are dressed in everything from suits to shorts hang around, chat and pay little attention to the music.

And, much like a wedding reception, there's a cover band playing, a small group of people have had too many drinks and gather near the stage to sing and dance and there aren't any politician or celebrity sightings — aside from the ones onstage.

In the meantime, while Bach tried to relate to the crowd by poking fun at Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan's iPod playlist, Erna may have put it best — "This is the weirdest gig I've ever been to..."